For many years, the AAUS community has struggled with two emerging programs, Accreditation and DSO Certification. These initiatives have been debated and discussed over the course of multiple administrations, featured prominently in recent strategic plans (2008, 2015), and each have seen various beta-tests. Yet, as of 2017, neither program has been fully implemented.

In 2016, the AAUS Accreditation Committee attempted to revitalize the emerging accreditation program by planning a series of accreditation site visits. This initiative was halted for multiple reasons, not the least of which were alarms raised by members of the AAUS community regarding a lack of information sharing and transparency. In response to these concerns the Accreditation Committee and Board of Directors decided to reevaluate the development and implementation of the program.

In the months following the 2016 AAUS Symposium, a conceptual model was created to connect existing and proposed AAUS programs. The rationale behind the model was to describe and visualize how various small pieces might fit together to create a big picture for the Academy. A draft form of the concept was approved by the Board of Directors at the spring 2017 Board meeting.

The AAUS Board of Directors is now presenting this idea to the AAUS community (see full description below). We alre requesting feedback and input on the concept as a whole. The specific details of each piece/program will be presented for review as they become available from the AAUS committees charged with their development.

We anticipate and encourage open community discussion on this topic via the DSO google-group/list, however, to allow access to all members of our community and provide a centralized and cohesive mechanism for tracking commentary, a discussion forum has been created on the AAUS website. Please utilize this web-forum as the primary venue for communication with the Board of Directors.

The AAUS provides a forum to share information on diving research, methodologies and funding while staying up with the latest standards of practice for training, equipment, diving procedures and managerial and regulatory experience.

The AAUS awards The Kevin Gurr Scholarship and The Kathy Johnston Scholarship to graduate students engaged in, or planning to begin, a research project in which diving is or will be used as a principal research tool or studying diving science.